Gameplay of Marvel Contest of Champions is similar to that of Injustice: Gods Among Us. The fighting arena is rendered in 3D, albeit the 2D plane for the superheroes' movements and actions. Players begin with two champions, and can collect up to 25 total characters at launch with more soon being added. Players will have access to characters like Iron Man, Spider-Man, Hulk, and even more, each with their own classes, movements, traits, abilities and special moves.

The game features an energy system that limits the number of quest-based battles players can compete. The energy recharges automatically over time or players can refill their energy manually. Additional crystals and other items may be found in chests as players finishes battles.

In addition to solo gameplay, users can battle against another people in the game’s PVP mode. The players can choose their own username to identify them in the battle and can go against others in one-on-one quick matches or three-on-three limited time arenas. However it seems that the other players are A.I controlled and not by actual players as the pause feature continues to function and the players seem to fail at responding to attacks very easily.